Kim Hye-yoon reflected on the hardships and growth she experienced during her seven years of obscurity. She appeared on tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" aired on the 14th and shared her experiences as a rookie. Kim Hye-yoon began acting at the age of 17 and mentioned that she was naive at the time. She said, "When shooting full shots during my rookie days, I didn't act. I didn't even know I had to, and there was no one to teach me." During this period, she received harsh criticism such as, "What good is good pronunciation if you're an amateur who can't act?"

Kim Hye-yoon recalled crying on her way home after hearing severe insults on set but said she pulled herself together by thinking, "If I get discouraged, I won't be able to do what I have to do." The filming sets during her unknown days were full of waiting and patience. She revealed, "On cold winter days, seeing the hot packs and heaters the staff gave me, I thought I wasn't yet worthy of them," and that she habitually refused them, which led to frostbite on her fingers. This caused her the pain of losing her fingernails.

She also had trauma from audition failures. Kim Hye-yoon explained that she went to over 100 auditions in seven years. She confessed, "At times, I went to three auditions a day. After failing repeatedly, I thought, 'Maybe I'm just someone who always fails,' and sometimes I went to auditions with that mindset." She also shared a story about how her height of 158 cm was a complex for her, and she lied that she was 160 cm to pass auditions.

After overcoming these hardships, Kim Hye-yoon was cast in "SKY Castle," beating a competition ratio of 200 to 1. She cited this work as her turning point and said, "It was really great to appear in a named role from episode 1 to episode 20." Since then, she has established herself as a lead actress through "Extraordinary You" and the recently sensational "Run, Sonjae, Run."

Kim Hye-yoon added, "Playing proactive lead roles has taught me a lot as a person," and "Because I overcame all those difficulties, I am even more grateful for the love I receive now." Her story has inspired many and reminded everyone once again of the importance of persistent effort and patience on the path of acting.